


In Our Blood

by fedaykin



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Blood, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Kylux - Freeform, M/M, Vomiting, unreliable narrators
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-04-16 15:25:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14167851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fedaykin/pseuds/fedaykin
Summary: It hadn't shown the girl what she wanted, but perhaps the watery pit on Ahch-To would give Kylo his path, his future, his means to success. With the always-plotting General Hux at his side, Kylo is sucked into a reality where 'keep your enemies closer' is an understatement.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been rolling around in my mind for months, so here it is, the first chapter pumped out in a couple of hours, thanks to a bottle of pinot noir.
> 
> Therefore, I probably made some mistakes, forgive me.
> 
> \-----

* * *

This is where she had come, the place she had told him about. It didn’t feel dark, not like what he had felt in the past. It was more like the place was angry. Angry that it had been forgotten.

It had been painfully easy to find Ahch-To now that it was useless. Skywalker was dead and Rey was gone.

All Kylo Ren had now was a pathetic pit in the ground. Would it even tell him anything?

“Supreme Leader, surely there are other-”

Kylo raised his hand to Hux and the noise stopped. After a beat, he felt embarrassment flood his senses. He hadn’t even used the Force but Hux was now conditioned to expect pain. How wonderful.

He tilted his head and stared at the hole. It had pulled her in when she came too close. Would that happen to him? He took a few steps closer and steeled himself.

Hux, that slimy sycophant, sighed. Kylo didn’t want him here but he also couldn’t get rid of him. Not yet. Not so soon after his ascension. And it seemed the General didn’t really want to be left behind either. He’d jumped at the chance to accompany his Supreme Leader planetside, wherever it may be.

A rabid cur, indeed. Waiting to devour whoever held the leash.

Kylo’s boots squished unpleasantly on the viney growth, branching out like infected arteries. He felt a chill coming through his boots even though the air felt sweltering.

Something horrible had happened here once.

Kylo wondered if a dark scar now tore the land where Luke’s school once stood, burnt from Kylo’s betrayal. What would the dark side offer from the ashes?

With tentative squelching, Hux approached the hole, disgust rolling off him with each step. Kylo rolled his eyes. It’s not like Hux wouldn’t love to spend hours shining his boots after this.

Kylo watched Hux peer over the edge and fought the urge to just push him. It would certainly relieve some stress. But Kylo liked to believe that he wasn’t that petty.

A few ruins, a burnt tree, a silent pit, and now the corpses of the natives. This planet held nothing for him.

“General, let’s -”

Hux fell.

There was a soft noise of surprise before the splash.

More accurately, Hux had been sucked in.

Kylo stomped to the edge, watching the disturbed water turn from white to black again. He was angry. Angry that Hux fell, angry that the darkness chose Hux, angry that everything became complicated so quickly.

The water was still. Did Hux even know how to swim? Did the pit claim its sacrifice? There was only one way to find out.

Kylo dove down, not even fully aware of why he would jump after a back-stabbing insect.

The salt water burned his eyes and the cape slowed him down. He yanked at his shoulder to remove it, kicking hard to reach the limp body near the bottom. Limbs splayed out and greatcoat fluttering, Hux was unconscious. Of course.

Kylo wrapped an arm around Hux’s chest and pushed hard from the bottom, propelling them to the surface. The blasted coat slowed them down and Kylo’s thighs burned from kicking with his heavy boots still on his feet. Had the water been any deeper and they might have been in trouble.

This was trouble enough.

Kylo paddled to the nearest rocks, reaching up for an anchor. His first grip failed, a white burn turned into a throb when he found a steady grip on the second attempt. He pulled himself up before hauling Hux’s body next to him.

He breathed, his forehead resting against the cool stone, the water dripping from his brows. He saw Hux’s blank face.

Jumping after Hux had been stupid.

Hux’s hair was dark and disordered, the excessive gel dissolving. The bags under his eyes and his lips were a bright pink next to the white of his skin. Although clumped together with water droplets, Hux’s eyelashes were nearly translucent.

A black ink seemed to grow from his hair. Blood. He must have hit his head on the way down.

Overall, Kylo could feel a steady lifeforce from Hux. That was a good thing. Hate him he did, but the Order still needed its General.

For now.

Kylo stood, the throb in his hand intensifying as he pushed up. There was a rip in his glove, so much blood that he couldn’t see his middle finger underneath it all.

He reached down to grab Hux’s shoulders, hauling him further up until Hux was leaning against a wall. For the time being, that would help the head wound. They always bled so much and keeping it high would slow it down.

Content, Kylo looked around. This is where Rey had been. This was the dark side calling out. But not to him.

To Rey. To Hux.

Kylo blinked, confused at his own sudden reflection. The wall was too flat, too fluid, to be a natural occurrence. He looked to Hux, his forehead smearing the mirrored surface with his blood. He’d propped Hux up on this wall. Was this where Rey had seen her path?

There was only one Kylo in the reflection and he raised his hand to meet it. The cool surface was a balm to his injured hand, like ice to slow the bleeding.

“Ren?” a voice said, panicked and low.

Kylo’s head snapped to look down, meeting Hux’s terrified eyes. It was good that Hux was awake, but… Hux was slowly melting into the wall.

The crystal wall was sucking him in, one frightened  eye following another frightened eye. Kylo leapt forward, grabbing at Hux’s arm, trying to pull him back out.

But he couldn’t. Kylo was stuck by the hand he’d placed on the wall. His hand was gone, his wrist slowly pulling in.

Nothing could stop it, the more he struggled, the faster it pulled.

Kylo watched as Hux’s boots disappeared, the last inch of soaked greatcoat gone into the wall.

There was nothing he could do. Kylo could feel the will of the Force.

He took a deep breath as his head was pulled in.

Everything was white.

And then everything was silent.

  

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's play a game. It's called "Guess where I'm going with this????" 
> 
> \-----  
> This fic's [rebloggable tumblr post](http://www.huxplicit.tumblr.com/post/173084104691/)  
> Find me at my side blog [Huxplicit](http://www.huxplicit.tumblr.com/)  
> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg you guys :'-) the response to this has been amazing and is 100% the reason that I wrote this next chapter in every bit of free time I had. thank you all so so so much. 
> 
> still unbeta'd, barely proofread, i'm just trying to get over my fear of writing 
> 
> \-----

* * *

It was deafening. Like being next to a starship blasting from a hangar.

It was so, so cold. Colder than space.

His head throbbed.

He couldn’t breathe.

He opened his eyes.

The salt water stung them and all he could see was a distant light in the blurry underwater darkness. He kicked, his boots weighing him down, but he needed air. He had to breathe. He was a horrible swimmer, but he understood the basic concept - flail until you reach the surface.

His right leg wasn’t working, like it was trapped in a block of durasteel. The constant roaring sound was getting louder, as though escaping made something angry. He grabbed at rocks and pulled himself up. The pressure increased on his right leg.  

He broke the surface gasped for air.

A soft light filled the tiny cavern from the opening above, gentle laps of water being the only sounds beside his breathing.

Startled, he looked around. Had he fallen? Where was -?

“General? Sir?”

Hux blinked in the harsh light of torches, the bright bulbs shining from the blasters of a few stormtroopers.

“Sir? Are you all right?”

His mood turned sour. It was bad enough that he’d been flung around by one Force user after the next in front of his men. Now he was a right mess, soaked to the bone and likely gaping like a fish.

“Just get me out of here!” Hux snapped. Ren had probably pushed him just for a laugh. If that behemoth was even capable of laughter.

The ‘troopers rushed forward, two grabbing his arms and hauling up. His right arm was still badly bruised from Ren’s little stunt on Crait and he hoped his yelp of pain sounded more like a sigh of impatience.

Some moron shined the light directly into his face again and he raised a hand to block it, ready to yank the blaster right out of their hands.

“Do you need a medtech, sir?”

“No," Hux huffed. "Let’s just get out of here.”

He had barely taken one step when he realized that his blasted leg still felt wrong. Heavily gripping on to the nearest white armored shoulder, Hux kicked his leg out, trying to see what was causing him so much grief.

Something dark had wrapped around his whole lower leg, like a giant piece of seagrass. He couldn’t feel the texture through his soaked gloves, but it was slowly unwinding as he pulled. He tried to look as dignified as he could hopping on one leg.

It was huge and it had… seams? Balanced again, Hux held it up with both his hands. It was Ren’s ridiculous cape. What?

Had Ren flung him in _and_ tried to weigh him down? Surely there were simpler ways to be rid of him. Ren had his chance multiple times.

And Hux had his chance multiple times, too.

Perhaps he needed to work a little faster getting rid of the new Supreme Leader.

Hux folded the cape over his arm. No, that mind-reader could be anywhere, he couldn’t think such things now.

Dry clothes first.

With the dignity of an emperor, Hux slicked his dripping hair out of his face and squared his shoulders. He was _the_ General of the First Order and he would not let anyone forget it with each _squish! squish!_ of his waterlogged boots.

A narrow staircase had been carved into a gap in the rocks. The ‘troopers escorted him up the winding steps, their armor clanking against the walls. Hux grasped for every handhold he could find. And he did not slip three times, he was merely testing the traction of his soles on the rock.

Shortly, the passage opened into a large cavern, the heavy ocean breeze flowing through the giant entrances. Hux looked over his shoulder and saw the opening to the ‘mystical’ pit or whatever Ren wanted to call it. He was actually surprised that Ren wasn’t there, pleased at his petty maneuver. But, there was no one. The coward couldn’t watch him drown.

Hux huffed and shook off the chill seeping into his bones. He was done here.

Leaving the ‘troopers behind to continue their reconnaissance, Hux walked down to the remains of the village. It smelled terrible, like decaying fish, as the flametroopers burnt the bodies of the pathetic creatures that had lived there. He stepped over the fallen bricks and approached the command table.

He sniffed condescendingly at the grey-uniformed back in front of him. “Ensign Tyto?”

The ensign turned. “Yes, s-” she said, her eyes going wide as she took in his appearance.

Hux pointedly cleared his throat. He had no idea what he looked like.

This was thankfully enough to snap her out of her disrespect. “Uh, yes, sir. Sorry, sir. How may I be of assistance?”

“Report?”

“Um, the natives have been eradicated. Teams are currently collecting and documenting all items and several data sticks were found along with navigational charts. An X-wing was also discovered at the bottom of a tide pool; excavators are pulling it up now to retrieve the computer core.”

“Excellent,” Hux replied. With any luck, they may find some clues on where the terrorists may be headed next. “Have you seen the Supreme Leader?”

Ensign Tyto frowned. “I haven’t, sir. Shall I send a team to find him for you?”

“No, that will be all. I’m just returning to the ship.”

“Yes, sir,” Ensign Tyto said with a nod.

Hux turned on his heel and walked to the nearby clearing that they’d used as a landing pad. He fought the shivers that wanted to seize his muscles and powered up the ramp of the nearest departing shuttle. He was relieved to find only two ‘troopers and a dozen or so crates of their finds, ready to be meticulously surveyed for any valuable information.

Hux alerted the pilot that he wished to depart and went to the back to take a seat. He secured his safety harness and let his focus slip.

He was so exhausted. 

But, that was not an excuse. He had work to do and he would press on.

The shuttle closed its doors and Hux’s ears popped as the air pressure restabilized, the rumbling turning into a gentle hum as they rose into the air.

Rattling drew his attention and Hux spied a few handmade pots in the crate next to him. He frowned. The chances of the dried mud holding anything of value were slim. But perhaps Ren had wanted them. Perhaps they were magical pottery that Ren wanted to pair with some Force-sensitive cutlery.

Hux’s chest ached. That disaster of a human was the new Supreme Leader.

Now his head throbbed and Hux was reminded that he’d nearly been killed by that traitor. The turbulence disappeared as they rose into open space and Hux needed to investigate the damage. Releasing himself from his seat, he slid into the tiny ‘fresher, locking the door and leaning heavily on the sink.

He looked horrible.

His reflection showed him white skin and blue lips. The thin flesh around his eyes was purple to accompany his bloodshot sclerae. His hair was dark and crusted with sea salt, clumped together all over his forehead. For a moment, he felt like he’d seen this before: a reflection... pain... Ren’s face staring back... 

Well, associating Ren with pain wasn't a surprise.

He needed to clean himself up as best he could before his long walk to get a change of uniform. Hux shrugged out of his greatcoat, hanging it on the door hook, and removed his ruined gloves. He was grateful for water now, wetting his hands under the faucet and trying to fight his hair back to regulation. A matted patch resisted him and he tugged hard before hissing at the sudden pain. That explained the throbbing, he’d obviously hit his head on something during his impromptu swim lesson.

Hux slowly pulled his hair loose. 

It hurt and Ren would regret this.

He was tired of being tossed around by these freakish mystics.

He would show Ren who could survive.

He had the loyalty of the men, not Ren.

He was the man of action, Ren was just a figurehead.

Ren was nothing. Nothing!

Hux’s frustration welled over and he pulled the clump too hard, yelping as the cut began to ooze blood.

Hux watched the line of red drip to his brow, incensed. He was going to have a little chat with his Supreme Leader. 

 

* * *

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know i joked about you guys trying to figure out where i was going with this..... but I'm going to just say that this fic is inspired by a fic I read probably 15 years ago in a different fandom that was a crossover(ish) with a show I have never even watched 
> 
> so yeah hahah 
> 
> \-----  
> This fic's [rebloggable tumblr post](http://www.huxplicit.tumblr.com/post/173084104691/)  
> Find me at my side blog [Huxplicit](http://www.huxplicit.tumblr.com/)  
> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apologies for taking longer on this chapter <3 life decided to precede fandom and that's just not nice haha

* * *

He was going to be sick. 

Kylo dropped to his knees and threw up into the toilet, the plasteel seat like ice to his feverish body. He felt terrible. His stomach was rolling. The overwhelming taste of bile and protein bars in his mouth. 

He felt more come up. 

Shudders overtook his body, his muscles tense and shaking. A chill went down his spine and he could feel all the hairs on his body rise. 

He felt… he felt like the Force had chewed him up and spit him out. As though he had been purified with ash and sulfur in his blood. 

The dark side. 

It had shown him… what? 

He slowly stood on unsteady legs, pulling his damp gloves off so he would wet his face in the sink. Kylo scrubbed and then rinsed his mouth, straightening to look in the mirror. 

He looked awful. 

Dry sea salt covered his hair and his eyes were bloodshot. The heat of his body made the air humid around his damp clothes and it was unpleasant to breathe. His skin was so itchy, his brain refusing to focus on anything except the desire for relief. 

He blinked. Trembling fingers reached out to find their cold, reflective mate. Condensation grew on the mirror around his fingertips. 

The mirror… the one on the planet. It had shown him nothing, just his reflection, just like Rey. 

_ “Ren?”  _

A spike of fear shot through his heart, turning to a cold nothingness. This wasn’t his emotions, it had a strange texture around the edges. The mirror under his fingers started to warm and then grew uncomfortable. 

It hurt. Kylo couldn’t remove his hand. He could feel his fingers sear, the flesh bubbling. The condensation on the mirror turned to frost, spidering out in crystalline patterns. 

_ “Ren?”  _

That voice. He remembered. Hux bleeding as he slowly disappeared. 

The lights about him were roaring, growing brighter and brighter. He clenched his eyes shut but the light still broke in. He just needed to free his hand before his eyes burned, before his eardrums exploded. 

“Sir?” 

It was dark. No, not dark. Normal. His eyes watered but he could see. He stared at his trembling reflection in the mirror. Something had happened but he couldn’t remember what. The twist of his damp clothes seemed loud in the silence. No burns. Just the cut on his finger that had long stopped bleeding. 

Three soft knocks and another “Sir?” 

Kylo turned to the locked door and snapped, “What?” 

The embarrassed pause told Kylo that whatever soul had been unlucky enough to look for him hadn’t thought much further than knocking. 

“I… uh…” 

Kylo slammed the side of his fist into the door panel and it hissed open. The hydraulics were slower than he wanted. 

“What,” Kylo snarled, “do you want?” It was some corporal clutching his helmet like a shield. And when they locked eyes, Kylo was convinced the ‘trooper was going to have a heart attack. 

“S-supreme Leader!” the corporal gasped. “I’m so sorry, I was just-” 

“You have five seconds.”

Now the words came out in a rush. “We’ve finished cleaning all the shuttles and this is the last one and we need you to leav- uh, we need your permission to proceed but we didn’t want to disturb you so I figured I’d knock but-”

“Shhh!” Kylo held a hand up and shook his head once, disoriented. They were back on a destroyer. 

How? When did they come on board? How long were they on the planet? How much time was he missing? And yet, he could still vaguely remember boarding the shuttle. 

But, he couldn’t think with the waves of terror coming from the soldier. And he would get no answers here. 

And it wouldn’t do to look like a fool in front of the first subordinate in his path. 

Kylo needed someone who would have answers. 

He needed General Hux. 

* * *

“What do you mean you don’t know?” 

“He hasn’t appeared on the bridge since he left to accompany you, my lord,” Captain Peavey said. There was an undercurrent of insubordination in his words. Kylo understood why Hux hated him. And why Hux let the man be the captain of Hux’s flagship. 

“But, he did come back?” 

Peavey’s brow furrowed, choosing his words carefully. “We… have confirmation that General Hux boarded a shuttle back to the ship.” It still sounded like a question, but with a dash of glee. 

Kylo frowned. He hadn’t intended on suggesting that Hux had gone missing or had deserted. Naturally, Peavey enjoyed the idea of Hux being less than pristine. 

“You could ask his flag aide, my lord,” Peavey suggested. 

He hadn’t even been Supreme Leader for a full two days and already Hux was slinking along in the shadows. Perhaps Hux jumped into that cave, seeing an opportunity to shake Kylo off his back. 

Kylo sighed and looked out the viewport. The mangled remains of the  _ Supremacy _ ’s wing drifted through space, looking like a carcass slowly being devoured by the insect-like emergency responder ships. Apparently, the destroyers that had been hit had been atomized; there was nothing left to recover. 

“What are the numbers?” Kylo asked as Peavey turned to join the observation. 

Peavey sighed, wearily. “Twelve destroyers lost, each carrying ninety thousand souls. We- uh, the estimates for the  _ Supremacy  _ have not been reported as of yet.”  

There wasn’t anything to add to that. Just a few days ago, Kylo had been willing to let them all burn. To use Rey to reset everything. 

Now, the Order was the only thing he had left. 

He hated it. 

Kylo bit into his cheek for a moment, his lips pursing. He watched the distant sparks of a welding team working on what had been part of the aft section. Each time the bright lights winked out, it seemed like he could feel a new sharp cry of pain, of death, of terror, of anger. 

The dark side had swallowed them all. 

What it would spit back out remained to be seen. 

He left the bridge. 

* * *

Hux wasn’t in his quarters. That damn droid turned him away. It was tempting to just behead the thing. 

He would show restraint. 

This time. 

Kylo wandered to Hux’s office. The halls had been quiet and empty by the staterooms but near the bridge they were thunderous. Boots and armor and droids, all working to recover their losses. 

In his helmet, Kylo could tune it out and pass like a shadow. Now, his face was exposed. Every person stared into his eyes as they passed. He felt naked. 

The commander assigned to assist Hux was far easier to intimidate. Another dead end, but perhaps there would be some clues in Hux’s office. 

It was a simple room, no outward signs of personal effects. Nothing to suggest the man had other interests besides his duty. It was cold and efficient, which seemed to conflict with what Kylo had always sensed from Hux. He was a fool trying desperately to assume a facade of control. But there was a simmering fire underneath that surface, chaotic and vengeful and greedy. 

Hux wanted. 

What exactly, Kylo doubted even Hux knew. Even if Hux received everything, he’d burn it just to crave it again. 

Truth be told, Hux was a great resource for dark side energy. Anger, greed, pride, humiliation. 

Kylo sat heavily at the desk, grimacing at his damp clothes. It was no wonder everyone stared. He would search here and then send men out to collect Hux while Kylo refreshed himself. 

Kylo placed his bare fingers on the center of the desk and ran them opposite of each other to the edges. As cold and smooth as ice, his fingers left smudges in their wake, disturbing a fine layer of dust. Hux hadn’t been here in quite some time. 

He still felt uneasy about digging through the drawers. It didn’t matter. Kylo was Supreme Leader, what would Hux do if he caught him? Hux already missed the opportunity to shoot him. 

Kylo was pleased to find that the first drawer was quite messy, overrun with extra styluses and nibs and blueprints. He found a locked data pad that required a code and fingerprint: useless. There were several memory sticks that asked for a drop of blood to open: impressive yet hilarious. Slit Hux’s throat and the Order’s secrets were out. 

More drawers were locked with passcodes. The same for the bulkheads behind the desk. 

There had to be something. 

Kylo put his chin in his hand. He’d need to think like a backstabbing weasel. Someone who thought they were the most important person in the galaxy. Someone who was ready to order others to destroy for him. Yet, someone who was most likely paranoid. 

Hux had to have some sort of secret compartment. 

Kylo slid his fingers over edges and corners and seams, pushing and pulling where he could. Under the desk, he found an area that felt smoother, that curved in ever so slightly. A hidden drawer perhaps. 

Kylo pushed and he felt it pop down. Blindly, he reached for the opening, feeling something hard and surprisingly hot. He could touch something past that, almost like paper, but the sudden throbbing and stickiness was distracting. 

Kylo pulled his hand out and stared at his blood-covered hand, a steady pour coming from a gash on his finger. He leaned over to look and saw a blade protruding from the opening.

Of course, Hux would add a trap to an already secret drawer. 

Kylo grimaced at his hand, a few drops of blood splattering on the floor. 

Hux was a madman and Kylo needed to find him soon.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apparently this fic is a love it or hate it trope, so that'll be fun at the reveal (nothing triggering)
> 
> Thank you guys soooo much for the comments, you're all amazing. 
> 
> Oh and I made a moodboard for tumblr reblogging, so go check it out: [In Our Blood moodboard](http://www.huxplicit.tumblr.com/post/173084104691/)
> 
> \-----  
> Find me at my side blog [Huxplicit](http://www.huxplicit.tumblr.com/)  
> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you all are lovely <3 
> 
> Many thanks to Darcydent for making sure I was coherent, haha
> 
> \-----

* * *

He clenched his eyes in pain. He hadn't experienced a migraine in years, but he could feel it building. He had neurostims in his desk.

Hux delicately reached for the second drawer, typing in a lengthy passcode even as his head throbbed. The affirming beep was like a blade in his ear.

A slight tremor in his hands made it difficult to pull out the cartridge. Shakily, he popped the lid off with his thumb and tensed his jaw. He searched for his jugular vein with his fingers, finding it with a practiced ease. With a deep breath, he pressed the trigger switch, fighting through the pain of the needle. He could taste the stims in his throat, he could feel it bubble in his brain.

Relief.

Hux sighed as his body relaxed, the empty cartridge falling from his hand into the waste bin. He opened his eyes.

His office was, blessedly, still in order. He’d been on his feet for days, following the Supreme Traitor around, signing request after request, maintenance and departures and leave and -

Two smudged trails disturbed the dusty yet polished gleam of his desk. Had he done that? Why would he have done that?

Someone had been in here.

Their search would have been fruitless, anything of importance was sealed away. He had passcodes and encryptions and blood locks. Even a knife or two.

Hux blinked before the panic rose and he pushed his chair back with a screech. With an odd crunch, Hux knelt down to the floor. He was revolting, still wearing a salt-crusted uniform. But there, showing as a warped spot on the shined floor was… Hux dipped his fingers in it.

Fresh blood, shockingly red against his pale fingers. Where were his gloves?

Hux lowered his head and looked under the desk. His drawer was open and the blade gleamed at him. He reached for the contents.

His fingers were still covered in blood and Hux jerked away, wiping at his trousers. He was fine. Nothing had been ruined. And it seemed that nothing had been disturbed. The trap had served its purpose. Hux gently pressed it closed and sat down again.

He should test the blood and see who it belonged to.

And then unleash the full might of the First Order on their soul.

He slid open his top drawer and retrieved a broken memory stick and his datapad. It was unable to store files without corrupting them, but the blood reader still worked. Hux quickly rewrote the coding, singling out the identifying process. And with his clearance, he opened the medical database. It would have been far easier to request their cooperation, but it could have been anyone in his office. Was medbay even trustworthy now?

Hux idly watched the program fly through hundreds of thousands of records.

Everything was fine. No one had touched the things in the drawer. He thought. But Hux couldn’t bear to check. It was better this way, to just believe it was safe instead of knowing it was gone.

A soft buzz told him his result was ready.

Hux’s frown deepened.

There was something wrong with the test. Perhaps he had missed a command in the programming.

He was not surprised to see the 100% match to Kylo Ren, of course he had been snooping around.

But there was also a 100% match to… Armitage Hux? Even if the sample had been contaminated with his own blood, it would never give a 100% reading.

Hux checked himself. He wasn’t bleeding. The throb in his head was nearly gone and the wound was dry.

Did Ren steal a sample of his blood to open his files? Really, the Supreme Leader had no faith in him at all. Hux didn’t feel bad about planning to overthrow him if the man was going to be this untrusting.

Ren was a terrible leader. He may have said a few pretty words during the assault on Crait. He may have addressed Hux properly and used military terminology to the point that Hux was borderline turned on. But he still became distracted, so focused on vengeance and sorcery.

A lot of good that did him - Skywalker was a mirage and Ren had made a fool of himself. It was no wonder Ren had opted to walk the kilometer to the base entrance by himself, he needed time to compose his embarrassment.

He had known to stick to the plan. Especially after that suicide run of a hyperspace jump. Especially after the odds-be-damned waste of Starkiller Base. These terrorists always had an eerie bit of dumb luck about them.

And yet, he had been thrown into a wall.

Damn Ren and his wild emotions.

That made for a terrible leader.

He needed to find him.

Hux stood from his desk, an unpleasant _crunch!_ accompanying his movements. New uniform first.

“Sir?” his flag aide called as Hux left his office.

“Later,” Hux snapped, throwing a hand up to silence them.

 

* * *

He passed exactly eight squads, three technicians, six officers, two primary school classes, and eight pilots on his way back to his quarters. He should have checked a mirror first.

Hux gasped in his reflection in his refresher’s mirror. He had blood dried on most of his forehead. When had he…? He remembered the water, the blasted cape, the pointless artifacts, the shuttle ‘fresher.

How had he gotten to his office?

How hard had he hit his head?

He was not panicking. His jacket stuck to him, the inner lining peeling off his damp skin. He could smell himself. Rotting fish and plant matter. Abhorrent.

In the privacy of this rooms, he allowed himself to shudder, the tiny hairs of his skin rising into bumps. He was not panicking.

Hux stepped into the sonic, closing his eyes to sink into the warmth and vibrations. His mind stayed afloat.

He was missing time. Surely, it was some sort of brain injury. He should go straight to medical. Ren would pay for what he had done. Every single instance of humiliation. Hux ripped an anti-bac soap wipe from its container, splitting it in two, as the container crashed to the floor.

He took a breath to center himself. Gently, he scrubbed at his face and around his hair. The wipe came away more brown with every pass. With his fingers and a fresh wipe, he felt satisfied that he was clean. Strangely, despite the headaches, he didn’t feel a bump, just pain on his skin from the cut. No lingering ache below it.

It had been bruised and aching earlier, hadn’t it? He pushed on it. That hurt. But the pain ebbed away once he left it alone.

He covered his face in his hands, tired as he slid them down. His skin was mildly numb and tacky, a sign that he was clean.

The sonic gently whirred to a stop at the push of a button and Hux inspected himself in the mirror.

So pale with a brilliant purple under his eyes. His hair clean and askew, but dull and lifeless.

General Armitage Hux, dull and lifeless. A fair assessment.

But the horrible wound on his head? Just a line scabbed over.

Hadn’t it still been bleeding on the shuttle? Would it look this clean so quickly? He should be black and blue. A fair complement to the green and yellow that decorated his neck and right side.

Damn Ren. He couldn’t go to medical for this. This wasn’t something that could cause blackouts. If he had looked wounded, he could have played the sympathetic role. The Strong General that persevered under the ruthlessness of the Treacherous Force Users. Instead, he looked like a child had thrown a stick at him.

He couldn’t afford to look weak. Not after everything that had happened over the past several days, even though none of it was his fault. Supreme Leader Snoke would never-

Oh.

How could he have forgotten? Ren really was the Supreme Leader now.

This was some ploy, some Force-driven nonsense to make him lose his mind before Ren finally finished him.

Hux would not give him the satisfaction.

So. He was missing time. He could fix that.

He dressed quickly in a fresh uniform before sitting at his console. He couldn’t very well ask people where he’d been, he’d look insane. But he could pull up the security cameras.

Checking the flight logs, he saw that the shuttles had returned anywhere from one to four hours ago. He knew he hadn’t been on the first several, so he skipped them in favor of studying the landing bay as the next ones arrived. He wouldn’t see much, but he would know his own pixelated-self coming on board.

Troopers. Troopers. Crates. Crates. More crates. Officers. Troopers. Crates. Ren.

Hux scoffed. There was the Supreme Leader, stomping off the ramp. In spite of the low resolution, he still could make out those ridiculous facial features. Everything was awful about that face. Those giant ears. Moles all over his skin. Odd teeth. Hair that defied regulations. A strong nose. Plush lips. Soulful eyes, framed in a burst of long eyelashes, that peered from under dark brows, highlighted by a distinguished scar, making it feel as though he could see straight into Hux's mind, his heart.

Disgusting.

Several more shuttles arrived. He had been certain that he had left the planet before Ren, but Hux still hadn't seen himself. He forwarded through several minutes, but nothing. The bay was locked and the maintenance crew was running through their duties. Hux checked the chrono. He was back to a live feed now. Nothing.

Again.

He scanned the disembarks and subsequent locking of each shuttle. Nothing.

Again.

He checked the first ones he was sure he hadn't been on. Nothing.

Again.

Only the shuttles that had officers departing. Nothing.

Nothing about this made sense. Nothing. Hux absently placed his free hand on his chest. He was real. He was here. He was alive.

But.

He scanned back to the shuttle with Ren. The only other occupants were the pilots. Just like the shuttle Hux had been on. Had Ren already been on board? Waiting to strike? Was this a botched attempt on his life?

Hux blinked at the shuttle. First drowning and now this. Ren had bewitched his troopers to forget he was on that shuttle. The pilots had left but then maintenance came on and escorted Ren off.

Clearly, Hux had been left unconscious in that shuttle, that's why Ren took so long to leave. Perhaps, Ren was even interrupted; that's why Hux was alive.

But.

Hux still hadn't disembarked. And the timestamp was current.

The next clear thing he remembered was his office. A few extra security hoops to jump through and Hux was looking at his desk from the camera over the doorway. He set the time to when Ren’s shuttle arrived and hit play, scrutinizing every blurry second.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Ren.

Slithering around his office, smudging his desk, unable to find anything amongst the locked drawers. Hux frowned as Ren rifled through the bulkheads behind his desk. Ren would find nothing.

But then the nuisance began to search his edges and corners. He was looking for something hidden. Hux knew what Ren would find. The compartment under his desk.

Hux smiled. It had worked perfectly. Ren had withdrawn his hand and Hux saw the blood drip down.

Until he didn’t.

Hux blinked and backed the recording up a few seconds.

What in the hells was happening?

Ren looked at his hand and then -

Hux rewound again. There was no glitch, no interference.

Ren sitting in his chair and then -

The tape hadn’t been tampered with; he’d checked.

Ren and then -

He needed to get to his office. Hux ran to his door, slamming his hand on the panel. Perhaps he was going insane, it would make sense considering how much Ren had been throwing him around, trying to discredit him, but this specifically?

The door hissed open and Hux bolted, running straight into a passing patrol. The ground met him and _pfassk_ , it hurt. It throbbed. But he needed to get up, he needed to get to his office. He needed to find Ren.

A white-armored hand extended towards his prone form.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooooooooooo? 
> 
> :D 
> 
> \-----  
> This fic's [moodboard](http://www.huxplicit.tumblr.com/post/173084104691/)  
> Find me at my side blog [Huxplicit](http://www.huxplicit.tumblr.com/)  
> 


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